Chapter Nine

How does he know my name? Did someone tell him, or has he been spying on me? But why would he even spy on me in the first place? And why in the world is he pleased to meet me?

Shuka was terrified. She was trying not to show the fear on her face but apparently it wasn’t working because the dwarf in front of her put up his hands and spoke in a placating manner.

“Now don’t you worry I’m not going to kill you. My name is Korro Rockhammer and I am the leader of the branch of the Thieves Guild in Rockmarsh. I caught wind of you little escapades down in Rainsburg and when I heard you arrived in Rockmarsh I thought I might as well see if you’re interested in working for me. I didn’t expect you to come to me before I even sent anyone to fetch you but I’m not complaining.”

He wants to recruit me? Why would he want to do that, I’m just some nobody from a small village in the middle of nowhere. Well, I certainly don’t want to join the Thieves Guild and become a real criminal so I have to find some way to get him to let me go. Hopefully he won’t just kill me if I refuse.

“This is all just a big misunderstanding. I didn’t steal anything, I was just at the wrong place at the wrong time and they thought it was me who did it.”

Korro chuckled and gave a friendly smile. That was not the reaction she was looking for.

“Please you don’t need to keep up you’re act with me. And besides even if you really didn’t steal the book in Rainsburg I doubt you’re an innocent woman.”

What the hell was that supposed to mean?! Ugh the damn curse is probably making me seem worse than I really am. I guess I need to convince him I’m incompetent instead.

“Look that whole debacle at Rainsburg was a fluke. I barely made it out with my life, and you can’t expect me to achieve something like that again. You should probably spend your resources recruiting someone a bit more competent.”

“Stealing a highly valuable magical tome and then escaping from the most powerful paladin in the empire is already setting the bar pretty high. Even if you are only half as skilled as I think, you would still be a better choice than half the prospective criminals I see coming through here. And besides, your magical talents and Quanso friend are both rare assets that I would love to have in my guild.”

None of her ideas were working and Shuka was starting to panic now.

“How do you know so much about me?” Shuka asked. “Have you been spying on me?”

“Oh no nothing like that. A few days ago, a certain paladin came through town with a story of an ‘Evil Witch’ that had apparently escaped from him in Rainsburg. He of course gave his report to the first officer he found and then moved on to other settlements to spread the message. Luckily for you the officer he reported to was one of my spies and decided to give your physical description and capabilities to me instead of the captain of the guard.”

That… is actually pretty convenient. If Validus isn’t here and the guards aren’t looking for me then I should be pretty safe right now. Or at least I would be if I wasn’t inside a den of criminals talking to their leader.

“Of course.” Korro continued. “I don’t expect you to trust me and if you do not wish to join that is understandable. All you have to do is say the word and we will part ways.”

That is almost too good to be true. No wait, it is too good to be true, he was just talking about how valuable I am there is no way he would just let me go like that.

“What’s the catch?”

“The catch is if you are not willing to work for me then I have no reason to protect you. The captain of the guard would find the wanted posters of you and your friend on his desk within the hour. You would go back to being a wanted criminal without any of the protection the guild offers.”

Shit, that’s bad. If the guards had wanted posters, then they would be checking everyone entering and leaving the city. If the report came from Validus then they would probably know to check for illusions too. But joining the Thieves Guild isn’t a very appealing option either. I doubt they would allow me to get their protection without working for it which means I would be expected to actually commit crimes for them. I need a third option.

“Joining the Thieves Guild is a bit too much of a commitment for me right now but maybe we can compromise. Is there anything else I can do to keep your protection?”

“If you do not wish to become a permanent member than I am more than willing to provide you with freelance jobs as an alternative payment method.”

“Freelance? What do you mean?”

“Well full membership in the Thieves Guild is usually reserved for the more trusted individuals of the criminal underworld. Most of the time prospective members do several jobs for the guild to test both their competency and their trustworthiness. These jobs are usually of less importance than the jobs actual members get so failure or betrayal doesn’t cause any significant harm. In truth I was never going to grant you full membership in this meeting, just offer you a job to see if you are worth the trouble.”

Korro was talking like this was all just a business proposition, it was almost enough to make Shuka forget just what exactly he was proposing. She didn’t trust the dwarf, but she still had questions left unanswered and if anyone was going to answer them it would be him.

“If I do a job for you once will I be expected to join you or work for you again? Or can I just do one job and then leave.”

“While I certainly hope you find it worth your while to become a permanent member, if you do not wish to join then I will not force you. Simply state that you are not interested, and all of our interactions can be strictly business. If you only wish to complete one job to pay for your protection, then so be it.”

“What about my friend? He is not a criminal and he was just helping me out so I don’t think he would work for you. If I do a job for you will it cover his protection too?”

For the first time in the entire conversation Korro lost his polite smile and frowned in disappointment. It wasn’t a huge change in his expression but the fact that he was anything less than content scared her badly.

“Shame, Quanso willing to work for people like me are so hard to come by and yet they are so useful. But to answer your question, yes it will cover the protection for both of you.”

Well at least that was one problem taken care of. There is no way Xorvos would be okay with any of this so getting him involved would just end in even more trouble.

“Do I have to give you my answer now or can I have some time to think?”

“If I gave you some time to ‘think’ then you would simply pack up your things and leave and I would lose my bargaining chip. You can ask as many questions as you like but you are not leaving this room without giving me an answer.”

Damn, so that’s not going to work.

“Earlier one of your people mentioned something about a mark. What is it?”

“He must have been talking about the mark of the Thieves Guild. It is a magical mark that is attached to your soul to produce a symbol on your skin that can only be seen by other people with the same mark. Only full members get this mark, so it is used to identify yourself and others as part of the guild.”

Wait, did he say soul? Don’t curses affect the soul? Maybe whoever is making these marks knows how to get rid of my curse.

“Who applies these marks?”

“Me usually. Although I haven’t a clue how they work. They are applied through a magic artifact that the main branch in Sidus gave me. If you’re looking for magical expertise look elsewhere, the most impressive magic you’ll find in Rockmarsh is barely more than parlor tricks.”

The excitement Shuka had felt from the possible lead quickly dissipated.

Sidus is on the other side of the Empire. By the time I even get there I would have probably found a better option than the Thieves Guild anyway.

Korro was still sitting at his desk, smile as pleasant as ever but Shuka was getting the feeling he was expecting an answer already.

I don’t want to do it, but I Should at least ask what he wants me to do. I will refuse if he ask’s me to kill anyone but if its something small then it might be fine.

“What is the job you want me to do?”

“There is a large shipment of lead being purchased by an unknown buyer. Your job is to find out who is buying all of that lead and preferably what they are using it for. You will be accompanied by one of my information gatherers, both to help and keep an eye on you. She was the one that brought this situation to my attention so you can get the details from her. Any questions?”

“Why lead? It doesn’t seem like the kind of thing a crime lord would care about.”

A look of confusion flashed across Korro’s face, but he quickly returned it back to normal.

“I’m surprised you don’t know. Lead is naturally disruptive to most forms of divination magic. It finds plenty of use lining the walls of safes and hideouts of people who have things to hide. I am sure you understand why people like me would want certain things to not be discovered by an inquisitive magic caster.”

If lead really does block divination magic, then it makes sense why a bunch of criminals would want it since divination is mostly used to find and detect stuff.

“How long will this take?”

“That’s up to you but the shipment is being delivered tomorrow so try not to take too long.”

Well at least it won’t take too long then. Whether I succeed or fail it should be done pretty fast.

“How much information do I need to get to have succeeded?”

“Well best-case scenario you get their name, what they plan to use the lead for, and who they work for if anyone. Failing that, just one of those three things will fulfill the bare minimum requirements of this job. You only need to reach that bare minimum to pay for the protection I am providing you but for each piece of information after the first I will pay you an additional one hundred gold. This means that if you bring me all of the information, I am looking for I will pay you two hundred gold total and you will continue to receive the guilds protection.”

Two hundred gold?! That’s a lot of money just for some information. And besides, this doesn’t seem so bad, it looks like I don’t even need to commit any crimes to complete it.

“I accept.”

“Excellent. You can wait in the common room while I speak with Anirak. She is the information gatherer you will be working with.”

And with that the door behind Shuka opened with a small creak and Korro went back to his paperwork, signalling to her that their conversation was finished. Not wanting to stay past her welcome Shuka left the small office and entered the common room of the Thieves Guild once again. It was no less nerve wracking the second time, but she managed to shuffle her way over to an empty table where she tried to pretend the room was empty. It wasn’t working very well.

Why can’t everyone here be like Korro. I was scared of him but not like this, it’s so oppressive in here I can barely think. I hope that Anirak person gets here soon so I can get out of here.

Shuka was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of a half full tankard slamming onto the table Shuka was sitting at. Looking up she saw a tall brown skinned elf wearing a colourful outfit made of dyed leather. Her long, pointed ears were on full display as her hair was tied back in a single large braid that went halfway down her back. What really drew Shuka’s attention though were her yellow-green eyes with a slitted pupil reminiscent of an alligator. She had heard about swamp elves having alligator eyes, but she always thought it was metaphorical.

“Oi newbie! Names Anirak, resident swamp elf spy at your service.”

Anirak was holding her hand out for a handshake and had an energetic smile on her face. She was also speaking very loudly and was drawing a lot of attention. Shuka could feel her heart race even faster than before as several pairs of eyes turned to look at her. The attention was unbearable. Lucky for her, Anirak seemed to notice.

“Not one for crowds are ya? Let’s go for a walk, I know a good place we can chat.”

“O-okay. Thanks.”

Shuka’s voice was wavering and quiet, but it was enough for Anirak. Upon hearing her answer, she downed the rest of her drink in one gulp and promptly started marching to the door leading back to the streets of Rockmarsh. Shuka was quick to follow wanting nothing more than to get out of there. Once she was finally out, she felt all of the tension she was holding for what felt like hours leave her body all at once. She had to lean against the building to prevent herself from falling to the ground.

I can’t believe I got out of that. I thought I was going to die.

Anirak saw Shuka breathing deeply against the side of the Thieves Guild and waited for her to recover. It took a few minutes but eventually Shuka had calmed down enough that she was ready to follow Anirak again. The colorful swamp elf quickly led Shuka down the alleys of the unfamiliar city and eventually led her to a large pile of crates. The pile was more than twice as tall as Shuka and was wide enough to reach both ends of the alley where it was located. Seeing the dead end Shuka only just now started to think she might be getting mugged. Instead of mugging her though Anirak just started to climb the pile of crates and only stopped when she got to the top.

“C’mon, my hideout is just behind these crates.”

Well, if I’ getting mugged I don’t think it matters if I’m over the crates or not.

Shuka wasn’t as nimble as her new friend so by the time she got to the top of the pile Anirak was already on the other side. All Shuka could see though was a large multicoloured tarp that covered the end of the alley that was hidden by the crates. After carefully climbing down from the crates Shuka found Anirak lounging in a pile of large pillows. The pillows weren’t the only thing below the tarp, there was a hammock in one corner and a large red and blue rug covering the floor. At the center was a low round table surrounded by pillows of all colours similar to the ones in the pile Anirak was lounging on. Atop the table was a tea pot encircled by a set of five teacups with a box of assorted tea leaves to the side. Next to that was several bottles of alcohol encircled by a set of five glasses. The whole area was lit up by a magical light that was slowly alternating between red, blue, yellow, and green.

“So, what do you think? I made it myself just for little meetings like this so feel free to get comfortable. You can help yourself to a drink too, but the tea might take a little time to make. I’ve also got some incense I can light if you want but the smell can be a bit much for some people, so I usually hold off on that with strangers.”

Wow this is so nice, it’s almost like I’m inside. She must have spent a lot of money on this place especially if she has to keep refilling her tea and alcohol reserves. And I don’t even know what incense is so that’s gotta be rare.

“Thanks, but I’m fine. And thank you for getting me out of that place, this is much better.”

Shuka sat down in one of the large pillows and found it surprisingly comfy. The hospitality was almost enough to make her think it was some sort of trap, but she was too tired to let paranoia ruin a chance to relax.

“Hey, no problem. Honestly I’m kinda surprised your thanking me though consider the look you’ve been giving me.”

“Look? Oh, right sorry about that its not intentional. If I seem oddly hostile or suspicious for no reason could you please ignore it?”

“Well I gotta be pretty dumb to ignore suspicious stuff just because I was asked nicely but I will at least give you the benefit of the doubt. You are giving me some mixed messages and it’s seriously throwing me off.”

“What do you mean by mixed messages?”

Anirak scrunched up her face in concentration and took a moment to think. When she finally replied her tone was… uncertain.

“So, like… I’m really good at reading people, and it’s a skill I’ve been practicing for decades so it’s really weird that I’m getting two completely different impressions from you. Everything I know is telling me that your just some lost kid who’s in over her head and completely terrified. But my first impression of you is still that your dangerous and untrustworthy. The only explanation I can think of is magic but using a spell to make yourself less trustworthy is idiotic… unless the spell is actually tricking my senses and its my gut that’s right.”

“Uh no, your first guess was right. I have a curse that is making people not like me and I can’t get rid of it.”

Now Anirak was starting to look at Shuka suspiciously. It didn’t look like she believed her at first but then her smile came back, and she was as friendly as ever.

“Hahaha, so you were cursed, were you? Man, that’s gotta suck, they are such a massive pain to remove. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavour.”

It filled Shuka with joy to see someone believe her plight. It was even enough to even make her believe it was true. But before she could give a reply, Anirak grew more serious, although not by much, and changed the topic.

“Well that’s enough chit chat, lets get down to business.”