“Report.” Master Revenant said in his office. “You watched the boy all day, tell me what you saw.”

“Yes sir.” A cloaked figure creeped out of the shadows. As the figure began to pull their hood down and mouth coverings off it revealed the face of Felix Chapman.

“So tell me Felix, what did you think of your adopted brother?”

Felix cleared his throat as he began to tell his story. Felix hadn’t taken much of a liking to the boy when his father had introduced him to them, he figured it was just some stray trash brought off the street as a pity project. His shadowing of Asher changed his mind though.

“To be frank, he’s a beast.”

“I don’t want frankness, I want details, that’s why I assigned a watch specifically to him. Now spill it.”

“He honestly spent a majority of his time goofing off,” Felix began to say.

“What do you mean goofing off?”

“I mean exactly that. He spent most of the test walking around the city, trying out different foods, and goofing off.” Felix motioned for Revenant to take a seat while he grabbed a chair for himself.

“He made a show of picking one man’s pocket, but the methods he used were so precise, it was hard to believe I was looking at a recruit. Half of the purses he stole, I didn’t even see him do, the other half were just nonchalantly snatched from people like they were giving it to him. I also caught him doing, what I believe to be, scouting out various parts of the city. It’s like I said, the kid is a beast.”

Revenant let all of this information digest as Felix gave his report. The thought of a single child bringing in over a hundred gold was unheard of. In fact, no other Syndicate recruit had managed to even come close to this boy’s feat, and Felix said the boy did it casually. One managed to bring in what amounted to one hundred and twenty eight gold, more than all of the other teams combined. It was more gold than some full fledged Syndicate members managed to bring in on a daily basis. From the start of Felix’s report to the end, Revenant clung onto every single word.

As Felix finished recounting his day spent overseeing One, Revenant stood up.

“Good job. Dismissed.”

“Yes sir.” Felix said and bowed his head as he made his exit.

“I need to find out more.” Revenant thought to himself.

Revenant found himself bowing down before the Guild Master, in his office in the heart of Sanctuary.

“Sir, what exactly am I dealing with?”

“What do you mean Revenant?” The Master kicked his feet up onto his desk and reclined back in his chair.

“The boy, One.”

“Ohh you mean my son Asher,” he let out a small chuckle “What about him? Is he giving you trouble?”

Revenant raised his head and was confused for a brief second. It seemed like the Master already had some idea of the talents his adoptive son possessed. Of course he did, The Master was arguably the most skilled rogue in the city, possessed one of the sharpest minds for business, and was a known intellect in Benetia.

“Not trouble sir, just a lot of surprises. For one, his aptitude for learning is second to none. He has also displayed a knowledge of some form of martial training. Also his record haul of over a hundred and twenty gold on the first test. No one has come close to this in our history, I also took the liberty of checking, and no one in any Syndicate branch has ever come close.

The Master simply nodded at the accomplishments of his son, with a smile on his face, and his eyes closed. Aldren had definitely taken a gamble bringing the boy under his wing, but that gamble had more than paid for itself. Asher had quickly proven his worth and potential, to the extent that the stoic Revenant took it upon himself to ask about the boy, and openly admit his constant surprise regarding him. The only hiccup was that Asher had managed to beat up one of the other master’s children, but Aldren quickly put that fire out and ordered that no retaliation be dished out with a simple ‘boys will be boys.’

“It’s possible sir that this boy may become a threat in the very near future, maybe we should deal with him before that happens?”

Upon hearing this Aldren’s face became stern and took on a vicious look.

“No. You will train him. He will pass, because that boy doesn’t understand the concept of failure. I picked you Revenant, because I wanted him under your watchful eye specifically. Should anything impede him other than his own abilities, you will be the one to pay for it.” Aldren said with a scowl on his face.

Revenant was taken aback, he had never seen the Master with such a murderous look. He had always projected a certain aloofness and laid back personality, even while actually carrying out assassination contracts. He decided that the Master must have a high degree of trust in the boy and decided not to push any further.

“Yes sir. I understand.”

“Good, get those ideas out of your head, and get out of my office.

“Consider it done.” Revenant said as he bowed again, before leaving.

Revenant, flanked by his two assistants, walked into the training area where the children were already waiting. They took their places in front of all the kids and scanned them all. The training group had decreased noticeably, the children had noticed as well. It was time for them to learn why.

“Recruits,” Revenant said as he looked at them all. “I would like to formally congratulate you all on completing your first test for the Syndicate. You have done well.” He took a few more steps to get closer to the group. He bent down to look at one of the boys who had begun to shake at the thought of receiving a beating, then stood upright.

“As I’m sure you’ve all noticed, some of us are missing.”

The children began to mumble amongst themselves over their missing teammates. The only two teams who had completely returned were Asher’s team, and Two’s team. All the children immediately shut up once Revenant started speaking again.

“It’s time for a field trip.”

The children all gathered up behind Master Revenant, as they prepared for their excursion.

“What do you think he means by field trip?” Seventeen whispered to Asher.

Seventeen looked a lot better, his eyes weren’t swollen any more, all that was left of the beating that Two had given him was two black eyes. As soon as they had returned and presented their hauls, Master Revenant quickly ordered that a lesser healing potion be given to the boy. Healing potions were miracle workers in Asher’s eyes, injuries like Seventeen had, would’ve taken a couple weeks to completely heal on their own back on Earth.

“Yeah, where do you think he’s taking us?” Four and Five said as they peeked over Asher’s shoulders.

“I don’t know, no point in wondering. We might as well just wait and see.” Asher said casually.

The group had taken a different route this time then the one used during their test. Following it to its conclusion they ended up in a different drain pipe closer to the interior of the city, near the slums.

“All clear, stay close kids. Be on your best behavior, you’re here to learn a very important lesson.” Master Revenant said as he began taking the kids to the center of Benetia. The city seemed to be busier than yesterday, more families seemed to be out, people seemed to be forming a large mob outside of the trade district. The entire thing was very interesting to Asher, “Maybe a performance or some snake oil salesman made their way into town this morning,” he thought to himself.

“Quiet children, this is what we’re here to see.”

A silence swept over the crowd as a man walked up onto an elevated wooden platform. The crowd of people stared at the man giving him their undivided attention. The man came to a stop at the center of the platform, behind him a gallows began being erected. The man unfurled the paper in his hand and began reading aloud to the people.

“Good morning beautiful people of Benetia! Today we will be delivering justice to those who choose to spit in the faces of law abiding citizens! We have some people who were deemed guilty by trial and others who were caught in the act!”

The man cast his gaze over the crowd, seeing that all eyes were on him, he carried on. He motioned for the first person to be brought up. It was a rather rugged, wild looking man that looked like he’d been beaten before being brought to this place.

“Mason Seedler, found guilty of the crimes, rape and murder. He has been sentenced to death by hanging!”

The crowd went wild and began jeering.

“Yeah fuck ‘im”

“Hang the bastard.”

“Let em dangle!”

The man was shoved forward as the noose was put around his neck. He didn’t try to fight the fate that had been delivered to him. The man’s eyes were already dead, filled with acceptance. The crier looked back at the man.

“Mason Seedler, do you have any last words for the people?”

The man’s eyes suddenly lit up and a sinister smile spread across his face revealing missing and rotted teeth. He looked at the crowd with wild eyes. He stared at a woman who was in the front row of the crowd.

“Yeah, it was fun.”

Asher stared at the man with disgust. He could wrap his mind around being forced into a situation where he’d have to steal, but rape would always be a line that should never be crossed, whether he was in this world or any other. The woman Mason stared at screamed out in fear and began making her way further back into the crowd. The crier also had a disgusted look on his face.

“Drop him.” The crier said. The executioner, whose face was covered immediately pulled the level unlocking the trap door beneath Mason’s feet. The man dropped and an audible pop could be heard. He kicked his feet wildly as he began making gurgling sounds. A minute or two passed before the man’s flailing stopped, a bloody foam could be seen coming from his mouth. The crowd went wild during the entire spectacle. Asher simply watched it all in silence, the man had gotten what he deserved.

“Piece of shit!”

“Hang em again!”

“Swing him like a flail!”

“Quiet!” The crier yelled out to the crowd. He looked back at the executioner and the hooded man proceeded to hoist the man back up onto the platform. The body was set onto a stretcher and two guards began carrying the man out of the area. A man could be seen scrambling to get closer to the route the guards were taking to escort the body out.

“That was my wife you fucking bastard!” The angry man yelled out as he spit on the corpse. He was promptly pushed back by two other city guards. The crier then cleared his throat, the sound resounded over the crowd.

“How was his voice so loud just now?” Asher whispered to Seventeen.

“It’s called Thaumaturgy, it’s a spell. All the criers in the city are able to use it.” Seventeen quickly replied. “I remember my mom had told me that one time when I asked about it.”

The people were all looking at the platform, as a line of children were brought to the top of it, their arms and legs shackled together.

“This lot were all caught in the act of thievery! In accordance with Benetian law, the proper punishment has been ordered to be issued to these children as a message to all thieves.”

“Pay attention,” Master Revenant said to the children, “He’s talking to all of us.”

As the crier delivered his message reading off the crimes of the children, he saw another hooded figure use magic to quickly start a fire in a mobile fire pit. The man took a pole with a flat piece of metal at the end and put it into the pit. Another hooded figure dragged a bench onto the platform. They had the children put their arms out onto the bench for all to see.

“Thieving hands that cheat hard working people deserve to be taken!” The crier walked up to the first child. “Left or Right?” the man said to the crying boy. Asher recognized that all of these children were the ones missing from the Sanctuary last night. Six boys and two girls found themselves becoming entertainment for the mob. All the children with Master Revenant had their eyes glued to their honorary brothers and sisters.

“L-L-Left.” The boy squeaked out and a hatchet was quickly brought down sending the hand flying towards the ground. “AHHHHHHHH!” the boy yelled as he began banging his stub down onto the bench and digging his nails into it with his remaining hand. All of the children on the bench began squirming and crying at the reality of the situation. One of the hooded men took the pole from the fire, grabbed the boy’s stub, and quickly pressed down the red hot metal onto it. The boy let out another blood curdling scream and passed out from the pain. This process was repeated seven more times. Some of the children up on the platform passed out as well, while others were in searing pain, unlucky enough to be brutally aware of their situation.

“Justice has been dispensed! All these children bear the mark of a thief for all to see! That will be all for today!” The children were escorted off the platform, the crier being the last to exit.

“Let’s go.” Master Revenant said, all the children nodded. A somber feeling had overtaken them. All of the children stayed silent except for one.

“Guess they should’ve stepped their game up eh.” Two said with a slight chuckle.

The children made the long walk back and found themselves standing on the training grounds. All of them looked up to Master Revenant, some with dulled eyes, others with fear.

“Let today be a lesson. The world is not a kind place, especially to those in our line of profession. If you aren’t up to snuff, that is the fate that awaits you. I suggest you take your training seriously from this point on.” He looked at all the children with a face that was different from his usual one, he looked at them with a bit of empathy.

“Forget about your brothers and sisters you saw punished. Focus on bettering yourselves so you don’t end up like them. The Syndicate is not a nice place and has no use for cripples, especially crippled recruits. Those children will most likely not survive the winter since they bear the mark of a thief. Do your best from this point on. That will be all for today, rest up. We will continue training tomorrow.” Master Revenant exited with his two assistants.

Asher found himself feeling a renewed sense of determination. He wouldn’t allow himself to end up like those children. He also wouldn’t allow his teammates to find themselves in that situation either. He couldn’t help the eight, but he’d be damned if he didn’t help the three he was teamed up with. He looked at his teammates and they looked back at him.

“Let’s rest up and get ready for tomorrow.”