It had been a busy two weeks. I was working at the Pub most evenings. During the two evenings I did not work I would be out grinding up my thief skills. This skill grinding involved breaking into the homes of the rich and helping myself to a little of the loot. During my nighttime forays, I had also discovered a home for children down at the lower city near the docks.

It was really an orphanage for the kids who had lost their dads at sea, and whose mothers could not or would not care for them anymore. I had really been aware of the lower docks but it turns out that area held a sizeable population.

They were mainly poor people with a few well to do merchants. Most of the merchants had their homes in the third tier of the city but a few maintained a residence near their warehouses.

The orphanage I had found was run by a former monk who years ago decided that the Gods were too fickle to be trusted and that real compassion was shown by actions not by tithing to maintain a shrine and keep the religious leaders in fancy clothing and an opulent lifestyle. I liked him a lot.

When I would reallocate the gold, silver or copper I acquired I always made sure that I put it in the big donation bowl at the front of the orphanage. I was also interested in the fact that the Hammerytes had built two docks of their own along with two adjoining warehouses.

I had been scouting out the buildings planning on doing a little B and E work. My plans had changed when I came across a flyer on the side of a tavern. It had read ‘Next Kings-Day the noted thief Kamasut will be publicly executed for crimes against the city and King. All citizens are encouraged to attend and be witness to the King’s justice.

I had been amazed at this, the idea of a public execution was not something that was supposed to be in the game, and it was almost like the rules regarding gameplay were being changed without the players being made aware of the changes.

I did a little checking and found out that Kamasut was being held at the Old Buttress, a jail located on the third level. It was run by the city watch and was subject to many jokes do to the name and what was reported to happen too many of the prisoners held within.

It was where I would be spending my night off. I needed to find the hall for Thieves, which was not something that I could go and ask a guard about. I also needed to register with them to obtain more training and missions that would help me level up my skills.

Breaking into a jail should not be hard it is only when you tried to leave that the problems would arise. It was a cloudy night which hid the light of the two moons, which was to my benefit. Looking at the prison I could see that the entrance was built on my side of the river that snaked its way down the mountain.

It was a narrow building of four stories; with the entrance located in the middle. I would guess that the prison made use of the river to supply the water needs of the prisoners. The entrance held two guards, with another clearly visible sitting behind a low desk. To go through the front would require the use of excessive force which was something a thief would avoid at all cost.

I was going swimming something I had thought I might have to do when I had scouted the jail earlier in the day. The river was my doorway and it would provide my cover as I made me entrance. I entered the water, it had poor visibility but I was seeing through the dim light with my Dragon eyes ability and using my recently acquired underwater breathing to stay near the bottom.

I groped my way along grasping rocks on the river bed and using them to pull myself forward. I rolled over on my back, thankful that I had stuffed a sack with rocks and tied it to my belt before entering the water. It was what was helping me to stay on the bottom.

Looking up I could see that I was now under the building proper so I unfastened the sack of stones and slowly rose to the surface. I was in a tunnel that was formed from the river banks and the floor of the building.

The river had been bricked as it ran under the building and the whole thing reminded me of a large sewage system. Except that this was clean for which I was profoundly grateful. The idea of having to swim through shit did not appeal to me at all.

I could see an opening ahead, the building had a room that allowed access to the river, I could also see a couple of pipes that entered the water, I guessed that they were for water intake. In a world of magic, there was no need for heavy mechanical pumps. I was hoping that the room was empty as no one would be needed to watch over mechanical pumps that were not there.

Breaching the waters surface in the shadows of a corner I quickly scanned the room, it was empty. I made my way to the steps that led up into the room and climbed them. I had been experimenting with my Dragon fire ability and had managed to control my body temperature by heating my skin surface to the point that flames would be almost released.

As I stood there I began to heat up, as I did not want to leave a water trail, soon my clothing was steaming and in a few minutes they would be totally dry. A very handy ability I thought. I had been looking at all of my abilities and skills trying to think outside the box and learn how to adapt them. It may be the game system was changing or it could be that I was just developing my skills.

I was just aware that I now did not need to use the interface to mentally see and depress the buttons. I could just think the command, and it would work. I had started out by saying the commands but had realized that a thief would not do well in the middle of a job if he started talking to himself. With a bit of practice, everything was working out.

I was particularly pleased with the fact that I could dual wield spells one with each hand.

I had tried to do more than two at a time but that experiment had failed; I guessed that it had to do with using the hands as a focal point for the spell to launch. For whatever the reason I was able to cast two spells at once and that was a huge advantage for me.

Soon my clothing was dry and I walked over to the door, it was locked but I had expected nothing less. Slipping my tools out of their pocket I went to work, the reward was a soft click and the door was unlocked. I had to admit, I was thrilled with being able to pick a lock, I think I had watched too many spy movies when I was younger.

Opening the door a crack I listened intently for a couple of minutes and hearing nothing I entered the corridor. The dim light was provided by a flickering torch, which cast the hallway into shadows. There were boxes piled up along the right side of the corridor, I examined a couple as I walked towards the stairs visible at the end of the passageway.

I read on the first box, it read ‘the personal effects of Thomas the Murk. He expired while receiving the tender care and mercy of the crown, he has no known family.’ As I read a few more it became apparent that these were the personal effects of prisoners that had died.

I moved on, reaching the stairwell I began to climb. I knew that the top two levels held the prisoners and that I would have to navigate my way past patrols and prisoners all of whom might call out at the sight of me. The risk was worth the challenge, as I could think of no other way to level up my class.

The door on the top was unlocked, that was sloppy protocol I thought. Cracking the door I listened for a few minutes and hearing nothing I entered the second floor of the jail. Stretching ahead of me was a long corridor that ran the length of the building, it held offices on each side and in the middle it opened out into the reception area.

That was where the guards would be stationed, and I needed to avoid that area. It was well lit with several torches and would be to open to have many shadows to hide in. At the far end of the central hall was a stairwell along with one that was located directly behind the guard’s station.

There were two guards that had just begun a patrol from the guards station heading away from me, they would stop and check that each door was locked. I made my way down my hallway stopping near the end, and pulling my picks I opened the door, closing it I locked it from the inside.

Glancing around I could see several desks and a shelving unit with papers stack on each shelf. I knew I would have a few minutes before the guards would be at the door so I began to go through each desk. Most contained trash, prisoner’s names and court dates, release information and the home address of the prisoners. Nothing that was worthwhile for me.

I stuck the jackpot on the last desk; it held a report on the Hammerytes. As I glanced over at the details within it became apparent that someone was taking an interest in what the Hammerytes were doing. Judging from the depth of the report the city watch had the group under surveillance, but all they had discovered was that the dwarves were manufacturing some kind of new weapons.

I soon heard the guards at the door; they were speaking about the upcoming execution. I listened to them as they discussed what would happen.

The first guard was saying, “I do not hold with this execution, the king has never had an execution before, I am thinking that this is the work of that damned chamberlain, Archon.”

Guard number two replied, “It has been dark days since the Gods disappeared, things have changed, I am not sure who the hell is in charge now.”

As they moved down the hall I was left with nothing but suppositions, first, the King was not in charge, Archon was. Second the changes that were happening were not a part of the original game design but were being forced into the game by the Old Bastards. The third thing was that the NPC of the city were not that happy with what was happening. The last thing was that Archon was very interested in what the Hammerytes were doing.

I waited patiently for the guards to continue back towards the guards station. Once they passed by I gave them a minute, and then left the office and slipped to the back stairwell. Unlocking the door I entered the stairwell and then re-locked the door. Climbing quickly I made my way to the top floor. Picking the door I cracked it and peered down the hallway.

No guards were visible, but I could see several torches flickering, the light was much dimmer here. I slipped through the door and walked to the first door. On this floor, there was only one series of doors on the far side of the hallway. The cells were considerably larger and were fewer in number.

Opening the stairwell door I could see the first cell was empty, but on the far side was another door that led to another room. I softly picked the cell’s lock and the metal barred door swung silently open. Good thing the hinges are oiled I thought.

Once in the jail cell, I softly closed the door and silently walked towards the inner side door. It was not locked and hung partway open. I leaned forward in the shadows and looked into the other room. It was a disturbing sight, I could see a woman strung up by her arms with her legs pulled out at an angle and tied up taunt.

Listening I could hear another woman speaking, she was saying, “Oh it is too bad that tomorrow you will be executed. I have had so much fun with you, both pain and pleasure. Opening the door I could see the girl who was speaking, she was a human as was the woman strung up. They both looked the same , with long blond hair, and the typical hourglass figure.

The woman who was being tortured was an NPC the other was not. Damn it, the torturer bitch was a player, she had to be some kind of psychopath. I slowly entered the room, seeing as the player was too busy to notice me. She walked over to the tied up girl who I knew was Kamasut the thief and reached out and began to fondle the woman's naked breasts, then leaning forward she took Kamasut’s nipple in her mouth and began to suck on it.

At that point, I saw that she held a whip, with the handle shaped like a foot long phallus. She slowly began to insert it into Kamasut all the while sucking and licking her breasts. This was wrong on so many levels, it was not the one on one female action, I could care less about a person sexual orientation. It was the fact that she had not only tortured but was still actively raping the NPC. It made me sick to think about how long this may have been going on.

I could not stand to observe this and I silently walked into the room. Getting as close as I could I called out, “What the fuck do you think you are doing you sick bitch.” I watched as she wheeled around to face me, her face becoming contorted with rage.

“Who the hell are you, she screamed. I am going to make you wish you had never been born, by the time I am done you will be begging to have me kill you.”

Not wasting my breath on a reply I cast Dragon fire at her and watched as she jumped to the side. While she was still off balance I cast an icy water bolt at her feet freezing her to the ground. As she looked down she gave a smile and said, “Do you think this ice will hold me, this is nothing.” It was not going to hold her, but that was not my plan for while she had been looking down I had closed the distance with her.

I suddenly clapped my hands over her ears and said, “I think a little electroshock treatment is in order.” With a grunt, she freed her feet just as I gave her the largest jolt of electricity I could. I don’t care what level you are, having your brain zapped with lightning is going to knock you on your ass.

I held the power for as long as I could, I really was not that concerned over her brain being fried. Who knows I thought it might do her some good. By the time I was done she was laying on the floor drooling with a vacant expression on her face.

I did not know how long I would have so I hurried over to Kamasut and examined her. She was beautiful even with her injuries, two black eyes, swollen cheeks and split lips. I did not want to even think of the damage the bitch may have done below the waist but I could see she was bleeding.

Her back was a tortured mess of cuts and bruises, she looked like she had lost a lot of blood. I pulled my shark tooth knife from the arm sheath I had commissioned a week ago. Grasping the rope I quickly cut through it and gently lowered her to the ground.

Seeing more rope on the table I bound up the psychopathic bitch and then raised her up. After tying her into position I finished removing her cloth. She was attractive as all players were, but the inner evil I had seen would forever cloud how I would look at her.

Once she was securely fastened I gritted my teeth and began to slap her face which gave her two black eyes, only stopping to occasionally punch her. I ended the beating by breaking her nose and then turning I grabbed the whip where she had dropped it.

I whipped her back four times, enough to get the blood flowing and to show that she had been whipped. I felt somewhat sick at what I had done until I looked down at Kamasut. Trying to be gentle I lifted her and exited the room.

My hope was that the guards would mistake the girls and carry on with the execution. I could not think of someone who deserved it more. I began to cast healing on the unconscious girl but it did not seem to be having any effect. As I left the cell I noticed another small stairwell that went up. It had to go up to the roof.

My plans suddenly changed as I heard footsteps in the nearby stairwell. I rushed to the other stairs and quickly climbed them, The upper door that opened onto the roof was locked but several seconds later I had it open and was on the roof. Closing the door I hit it with an ice blast, freezing it to the door frame.

Glancing around I saw that the roof was empty, and the far end overlooked the city below as it jutted out. The wind was blowing strong and steady coming off the sea. I stood for a minute then metamorphed my wings out.

I started to run towards the edge and then I leaped into the air, unfolding my wings I began to glide downwards.

I started to flap the wings and soon the combination of wings and wind began to lift me as I glided over the city. I was actually rising as I flew towards the sea, this was the first time I had really flown instead of gliding.

Looking down I could see the lights of the city curving around the shoulder of the mountain. I aimed for the city terminal and when I saw it I flew across to the island. Circling over the island I saw what Komhether and Sebastian had been working on, my house.

If a three story cabin could be called a house. It was near the lake in the center of the island with the open beach in front of it and the grassy area on the sides and back. I landed on the grass and ran towards the doorway. Banging on it brought a response within a minute.

Sebastian opened the door with Komhether standing behind him. Looking at me with a startled expression he said, “Torn what are you doing here, and what is with the girl? Komhether suddenly said, “Sebastian move aside, the girl is injured, quickly Torn bring her in.”

As I entered the cabin I saw that the first floor was wide open with a fireplace dominating one wall and scattered chairs and couches all over. I went to the nearest couch and put the girl down. She was not looking good, still bleeding and her breathing was shallow.

Looking up I asked, “Is there anything that can be done, my healing spell has no effect. I could not take her to a healer in the city, I just rescued her from the Buttress, they were going to execute her.”

Sebastian sadly shook his head and said, “I really do not have anything for healing, I am sorry Torn.” I looked at Komhether and he shrugged. Clearly he also did not feel he had anything he could contribute.

I jumped up to my feet and stated, “This is not acceptable, I will not have this girl die. Komhether, you are the last of the original Gods, and I believe that you have some measure of godly power. Use it, help this girl, please try to speak healing to this girl.”

Komhether looked startled and said, “You know I am not a God, I was just a messenger, I do not have that kind of power.” I interrupted him and said, “You are wrong, all the Gods have power, they may not have allowed you to use it but I know you have the same divine spark within you. Try my friend, just try to heal her.”

With Sebastian nodding in agreement Komhether looked frustrated but then Kamasut moaned, and as Komhether glanced down at her I could see the compassion on his face.

“All right I will try,”Komhether said. “That is all I can ask,” I replied. Kneeling down in front of the girl Komhether placed one hand oh her belly and the other on her head, then with a look of intense concentration he began to gently rock back and forth.

A soft glow began to surround him, a warm yellow light that flowed down his arms and hands and covered the girl, slowly sinking into her. After a few minutes, her breathing relaxed and her face lost the expression of fear and pain. She was sleeping, the healing had worked.

“Torn please explain to us what has happened, we were not expecting you for another week, and then you show up like this,” Sebastian said.

I sat down in a nearby chair, I felt exhausted. “I will,” I said. “But first do you have anything to drink as my throat is dry.” Fetching me a drink Sebastian looked expectedly at me. Komhether meanwhile was grabbing a bowl of water and some items to clean the girl.

I started slowly explaining my need to rescue the thief and then my discovery of her being tortured. Both of my friends looked upset as I explained what I had seen. Continuing on I summed up the tale with my return to the island in the hopes of receiving help for the girl.

Komhether spoke first and said, “Well done Torn, to leave the girl in the hands of that bitch would not have been an acceptable thing to do.” Sebastian nodded in agreement and said, “You made the right choice, my prince.”

I stood up and said, “Guys can you care for her, I need to sleep, I am exhausted.” Seeing them nod I went to a large couch near the fireplace and laid down, closing my eyes I was asleep within seconds.