Underdark- Black Web Region

Kingdom of Zeren'gor Territory- Village of Kin'lan

The Drunken Charlton

Aaron studied the room and the crowd, Kin'lan was an overgrown village on the verge of becoming a full-fledged town. It was sitting at a crucial junction within the Underdark between the city of Nythi Thalas, Aran'Dor, and territory controlled by the Duregar. One day the village might become a full-fledged city, but it was not there yet.

The Thieves Guild had noticed the potential growth and had placed a Guild Baron here almost a decade ago. The investment had paid well. All the nearby raiding bands paid up to the Guild, and what little thievery within the town only occurred at the ok of the Thieves Guild. All independents had long been pushed out or killed.

The local Beggars Union had gladly given Aaron all the information he needed for a couple of gold. Now he knew who liked and who hated Adrain, where he ate, where he held business, where he slept and even who he was sleeping with. Surprisingly, he had seduced or been seduced by the local Matron that was in charge of the growing village. A bold move, and could be a dangerous or extremely valuable relationship for him both in the short and long terms.

The local Thieves were happy and boisterous, but they had very little actual work. The pickpockets were the most active within the group since any Thievery could be easily be tracked in such a small community. However, pickpocketing in a local market was a completely different animal. It also allowed them to track what merchants they could and could not raid once they left the village for the more densely populated parts of the Underdark. "So why you here again?" one of the Thieves asked.

"Just getting away from Aran'Dor. Helped pull a job, gained some Infamy and need to sit back and relax for a bit. Had a friend suggest this place as being out of the way and less likely to get into trouble." Aaron responded and the man, John smiled.

"That is very true, not much going on around here. They got a couple of Dungeons close by, but unless you plan on going into Duergar territory or another city, there isn't much to do. Kin'lan is a trade hub, plenty of traffic in and out, so it will be easy for you to blend in." John told him and Aaron smiled.

"That is what I am betting on. So, what can you tell me about the local Chapter? Anyone to avoid or anyone I should cozy up too while I am here?" Aaron responded as he let his eyes trail over to Adrian where he was sitting and eating with a few acquaintances.

John followed Aaron's look and snorted, "Arrogant little shit. Thinks he is a big shot because he is in charge here and the local Viscount favors him because he sends a steady stream of coin into his pocket. Only his lapdogs like him, so best stay clear of him. One of these days that little shit is going to piss off the wrong man and end up waking up with a slit throat." John told him and Aaron studied him.

"So he isn't well-liked?" Aaron asked and John snorted in disgust.

"Not even a little bit. He doesn't help with anything at all. He has even lost control of the brigands that are located in the tunnels along the trade routes. The guy in charge of them, he is a far better leader and Adrian knows it and tried to kill him. Instead, Adrian almost died and Quincy almost killed him. Since then, he hasn't left the village." John told him and Aaron smiled.

"Well, things change all the time. What might be one way one day, might change the very next day." Aaron told him as he looked at the clock on his Quest ticking down.

Getting into Adrian's home had been easy compared to Jerimiah's, laughably so in fact. The two sentries that had been watching the place were easily bypassed and the few traps and defenses had been disabled easily. Honestly, it worried Aaron that the man that was supposed to be in charge of the Thieves Guild interests in this area protected his home so...badly.

Either the man was careless or too arrogant to protect his personal interests so casually. It gave him yet another reason why he didn't like the man, and why he should be eliminated instead of allowed to retire to another profession. Arron shook his head in disgust as he recovered several correspondences between Adrian and Jonas with a basic outline of what he had already discovered. Yet it still begged the question of why they wanted to invade an outlying city of the Drow kingdom.

Strategically Nythi Thalas held value if the kingdom of Zeren'gor faced an invasion from the Duergar, but the Duergar were far from a united kingdom. They fought themselves as much as they fought outsiders. Sure Mul Duram was making a concentrated effort to bring all the Duergar Clans under their banner, but it was a war far from over. It was a concern for another day Arron decided as he placed all the letters into his inventory before he activated his Rogue's Eye as he studied the rest of the room.

Three hidden compartments and one secret passage later Aaron had finished plundering and discovering all of Adrian's secrets. None of them caused Aaron to respect the man any more or less. After some consideration, Aaron sat down in his chair and kicked his feet up as he waited for Adrian to come home. Aaron smiled to himself, the show was going to be interesting, to say the least, but necessary.

Adrian stumbled a little as he walked down the street and chuckled. "I think I actually had too much to drink tonight," he told Mara who smiled.

"You are always more adventurous when drunk," she said with a smirk and Adrian smiled at her.

"Just make sure you don't leave any marks and I have to be able to walk around tomorrow. I have a meeting I cannot postpone or reschedule." Adrian told her as he gave her a leering smile causing the Drow woman to slap his ass.

"As long as you obey the rules once we start, you should be able to walk tomorrow...Did you leave your door open?" Mara asked and Adrian jerked to a stop. His guards were still back at the Drunken Charlton. Everyone in the village knew this was his home and they knew not to mess with it. Adrian grabbed his daggers and moved forward through the open doorway.

The inside was still in pristine condition but he immediately could see that his traps had been disabled. "Should I call the guard?" Mara asked and Adrian hissed at her.

"NO!! I have no idea who did this, but do not interfere." Adrian told her as he strode forward deeper into his home until he got too his office. Another Thief he did not recognize was sitting in his chair with his feet on his desk. He studied him and the contemptive sneer played over the other man's face then his eyes fell on Mara causing him to roll his eyes.

"Tell your whore to leave, this is business Adrian, and we do not want witnesses to business do we?" the man asked him and Adrian frowned but nodded his head in agreement when he spotted the man's guild ring.

"I apologize Mara, but you are going to have to leave. I forgot I had a meeting set up for tonight. I will contact you later." Adrian told her and Mara glared at Adrian and the uninvited guest before she turned and slapped Adrian before walking away.

The man smirked, "You have a way with the ladies, don't you...' the man quipped as he slowly stood, 'I assume that you heard that the Nythi Thalas Chapter of the Thieves Guild is about to undergo an Audit. Consider this one yours. Close the door, now!!" the man commanded him and Adrian took a step back and absently closed the door.

Underdark- Black Web Region

Kingdom of Zeren'gor Territory- Western Passages outside the village of Kin'lan

Aaron strode up to Quincy and tossed him the ring he had grabbed off of Adrian's corpse. "Sorry about the blood, but he started wiggling and screaming when the stabbing started. Bastard got lucky and my first stab missed his heart." Aaron commented and Quincy chuckled as he studied the ring before nodding absently.

"Damn...how did you get close enough?" Quincy asked as he started cleaning the ring.

"He might have thought I was part of a commission investigating his actions or lack thereof. I did not dissuade him though. You might want to get your people moving and you can take over Kin'lan peacefully. Goodluck Baron." Aaron told him and Quincy looked at him and nodded once before bowing slightly.

"Thank you, Viscount, your faith will not go unnoticed and you have my support. We will be there as agreed upon.' Quincy responded, then after some consideration, he continued. 'What are you going to do now?" Quincy asked and Aaron smiled as he read the popup before responding.

Guild Quest Complete: Cleaning House

Description: After infiltrating the village of Kin'lan, you managed to get close enough to eliminate the current Baron of the village. Congratulations on ruthlessly crushing part of your opposition's support.

Kill Adrian Johnson: Dead

Success: Kill or discredit Adrian Johnson

Failure: Do not Kill or discredit Adrian Johnson

Rewards: 2,000 Experience, Quincy and a group of his Enforcers/Bandits will assist you in your attack on Jonas and his loyalists

"Adrian was not the only Baron Jonas has, I plan on visiting the others and cleaning house while I also help the green Thieves in Nythi Thalas get better at what they do. I probably should run some dungeons as well since we got a fight coming but there is only so much time." Aaron responded as he pulled a Portal Scroll from his inventory and activated it.