The performance of the Bard that evening had been great; Druss was entertaining and engaging with his stories of Gods and men, wars and conflicts. I had really enjoyed it, as had Komhether and Sebastian. It was clear that those two were getting along very well. I hoped that Sebastian knew what he was doing; I did not want to have a spat between my people if things did not work out. I thought of the old saying, not my monkeys not my circus. If only it were true.

Making my way to the pub I found a small table tucked away in a corner and sat down to have a cold drink. The pub was busy with all the people who had attended the show. One of the bartenders must have been on his break as he came walking through the crowd looking for a place to sit and enjoy his drink. Catching his eye I pointed at the empty chair across from myself and lit up a smoke.

As he sat down he said, “Thanks, it is busy in here. The name is Alaric and I am the proprietor of this pub.” I nodded and said, “My name is Torn, pleased to meet you.” We sat in companionable silence enjoying our drinks for a few minutes. Alaric looked at me and asked, “So what is it you do Torn, I see no guild symbols on your clothing and you are clearly not a Kings guard or a City watchman?”

I thought for a moment before replying, “I am an adventurer I suppose; right now I am just starting out. Just looking for some quests to do and perhaps a part time job, have to pay the bills I guess.” Seeing Alaric nod his head we continued to drink, after a few minutes I went to light a smoke and offered Alaric one. He looked at it and then said, “This smoking of these things has sure become popular in the city, and sure I will try one.”

After several more minutes of minor talk Alaric stood up and said, “I have to go back to work, we are always short staffed. If you are really interested in a part time job wait till closing and then come talk to me. I will see what I can do for you.” I nodded and then thanked him, and observed as he walked back behind the bar.

The rest of the evening passed until the last customer was gone, at which point Alaric came back and sat down again. “It feels damn good to get off my feet,” he began. I nodded; it had been a busy night at the pub. “So if you are serious about wanting to work I can use a hand, have you ever worked in a kitchen?” He asked.

I took a swig of my cider and spoke, “Where I grew up I was working almost every night in a kitchen so I am pretty good at doing dishes and cleaning.” Alaric nodded and then spoke, “Well I like you, and I will put you to work, if you can start every other night at five bells in the kitchen we will see how you work out. If you impress me than I might move you up to working at the bar as the tips are better there. Pay is two silver a night plus a share of the tips and one free drink and meal thrown in, so what do you say, are you in?”

I nodded in agreement it was a great deal for me, now all I needed to do was to scout around for someplace nearby to live. I had sent Sebastian and Komhether home after the show, and I was pretty damn sure that they had both ended up at Sebastian’s place judging from the gleam in the dapper little demons eyes. Whatever rocks their boat, I certainly was not one to judge. But it did leave me with the problem of finding a place to stay.

I was about to ask if Alaric knew of any lodging to be had nearby when he looked at me and then spoke again. “So you are an adventurer, what class are you going to go for?” I shrugged, and said, I am thinking perhaps a hybrid, healer with strong long distance DPS. I have not found any quests yet and have not learned any spells, skills, or abilities yet.” Hopefully something will come up to get me going, being level one is a bit of a pain.”

“Maybe I can help you there, I have a quest that I want done, if you agree to it we will start the job once you are done, are you interested?” I was watching Alaric’s face as he spoke and I was getting the feeling he really wanted me to accept this quest. I looked at him and said, “Tell me the details, and if I think I can accomplish it I will accept the quest.

“The quest is actually easy I want you to go to the abandoned island open a locker and retrieve my mother’s bag. When the stone Golems stopped spinning the wheel for the cable car all the people who had been over there had to be portalled back here at great expense to the King. The Mages did not allow anyone to retrieve any personal belongings. Everything was left there locked up.”

“Well that sounds easy enough, but for two problems, one how do I get there and two how I would open the locked locker,” I spoke slowly thinking about these two problems. “If the cable is still connecting the island to the city I can cross on that, but the locker I am not sure how to deal with that.”

“I might have something to help you with that let me go fetch it and you let me know what you think.” With that Alaric was off and rummaging behind the bar. “Here check this out,” he said as he tossed me a small leather bag. Opening the bag I noted that it held a small wooden case, and a tin of what looked like blackening paste. At the bottom of the bag was a small book, pulling it out, I read the cover.

Thievery, the fine art of taking what belongs to others and making it yours.

Opening the wooden case I saw that it was full of fine metal lock picks. Suddenly the black paste made sense; it was for darkening the skin at night. It would make hiding in the shadows much easier. I opened the book again and read a few of pages.

Lock picking, the basics

Lock picking advanced

Lock picking master level

Pick pocketing, your guide to personal riches through the efforts of others

Climbing walls and hanging around, the right time and approach to let yourself in

Restraints, they are not for the free

What’s yours is mine and what’s mine is mine, confidence benefits a con man

Some gave all and all gave some, how to read a mark

I closed the book and looked at Alaric then asked him, “Do you know what this book is?” He shook his head and said, “I do not, nor do I want to, I grabbed this gear off a fellow who tried to break into the pub one night after closing time. It is stuff that might help you and if you take the quest it is yours, so what do you say?”

A quest window opened up on the interface and I read,

Alaric the Pub master has a hidden quest

Go to the abandoned island

Open his mother’s locker

Retrieve her bag of personal belongings

Return within a set time and receive the reward

Reward will be determined by Pub master

Do you accept

YES or NO

I nodded and then spoke, “I will do it, give me a week, and hopefully we will have succeeded the only other question I have is this, what is the reward? As much as I like to be helpful I need to also benefit from any quests I do.” Alaric looked at me and laughed, and said, “Well you’re not Saint Tor come to help us eh. The rewards for the quest are five gold pieces, and ten thousand XP, plus you can keep any other items you can loot on the Island.”

“It is a deal,” I said as we clasped arms. “Now I had better be off, or the damn curfew will get me if I am caught.” “Not to worry mate, the curfew is suspended on the nights we have entertainment. But I would not linger on the streets; those damn people from the House of Pain sometimes wander around looking for people to make trouble for.” Alaric looked grim as he spoke and I could guess why I hated those bastards and one day I would deal with them.

Thanking him for everything I made my way out to the amphitheater and strolled along the seawall looking out at the island. Eventually, I came to the building that housed the entrance to the cable cars. Standing on each side of the building were two stone Golems, frozen for years in the act of turning a huge handle that moved a simple gear that in turn drove another that moved the cable. It was simple and yet it was one of the most advanced pieces of technology I had seen Ingame prior to Banhammers creations.

I was becoming interested in this abandoned island, what had caused the Golems to freeze, clearly this had been an attraction of the city, why did the city not repair or replace the Golems. I am guessing but I think that some investigation would be warranted. I could clearly see into the building, some wooden benches and tables and chairs were visible, along with a countertop that ran the length of the back wall.

Trying the door handle showed that they were still locked and the windows had bars, on them. Thinking to myself that there is no time like the present I sat on the steps of the building and under the light of the two full moons hanging low in the sky I grabbed the book I had received from Alaric.

Opening it, I began to read it when a skills window popped open.

Do you wish to read and learn the skills within the book

YES or No

Mentally thinking yes, I saw a new icon appear on the quick launch bar of the interface. Pushing the icon I could see that it had several subcategories, but they were all grayed out. I began to read the book and as I did the categories all filled with icons for new skills. The higher tiered abilities required an advanced XP to be able to use them. When I was done I observed that the books pages were now empty.

A new window popped on the interface and I read, You have discovered a hidden class.

Thief

This class allows you to develop a subclass to display to the public, all classes are available

If you are found out you will incur one hundred percent reputation loss with all City NPC guards and King and will be imprisoned by the state

Class bonus

The ability to hear when others speak of you if they are in the shadows

Do you choose this class

YES of NO

I sat and thought, this class might be what I needed, and the fact that I could choose a subclass was icing on the cake. It was another advantage I would make full use of. With a smile, I accepted the class. Glancing at the time displayed on the interface I noted that the PIM integration should have completed. Opening the software window I saw that it had achieved one hundred percent integration with the interface and was waiting for my agreement to reboot the interface.

Nodding my head I agreed to accept the changes then sat back, leaning against the wall of the building. This should feel look falling asleep I hope.