The older teen who invited Neven to sit down shuffled the dice in his hand and threw it on the table, "I'm Gabe. I run this lot throughout Asylum. Information is our game. So, you want to see the guildmaster, eh? Where you transferring from? You certainly aren't from around here."

"True enough!" Neven nodded in agreement, "I'm from Deeping Dale! Have you ever heard of it? We lost our guild master, three more rose up to take his place and then we had a full fledged thieves war. Nasty business it is. That's why I'm here. To practice my trade in peace."

"Never heard of it." The one in the far corner said eyeing Neven's friends standing near the entrance of the pub.

"Don't mind them," Neven smiled at the lad in the far corner, "They're my backup. They're not looking for trouble. They just want to keep me out of it."

The girl with the reddish brown hair smiled at Neven again, "You're cute. So, who's the one in charge now?"

Neven smiled back at the girl, "You're cute too! No one's in charge. The thieves war was still raging when I left. It's awfully hard to practice your trade when your fellow guild members are either trying to kill you or rob you or both. I got out of there with my head still on my shoulders and my skin still intact and I haven't looked back since."

"Now I see why you wanted to get out. Can't be in a guild with no system to keep things going like. No sir." One of the teens who was playing dice stopped momentarily then went back to throwing the dice.

Some of the others playing dice glanced occasionally at Neven and the party from time to time. Talking among each other or hap-haphazardly starring at him. The gaze made Neven uncomfortable as if the teen was reading his thoughts.

"A copper piece for your thoughts?" Neven asked no one in particular before he turned towards the girl with reddish brown hair and gave a friendly wink of the eye.

"How thoughtful," She reached across the table, grabbing Neven's shirt pulling him close and kissed him. "I'm Seri."

Neven was at first surprised by the kiss but then began to enjoy it before Seri released him, "I'm Neven. By the way, beautiful, did you happen to lose this?"

She giggled clearly impressed with his skill set, "You're good. I think you'll fit right in nicely, Neven."

Neven opened his hand to reveal a small silver ring that he had slipped off of Seri's finger without her noticing, "I hope it has as much sentimental value as what you took from me."

"Are you sure about that?" She rubbed her hands together in a ball like motion and then opened them producing some gems. High value gems and very real.

"Nice! Very nice," The Thief smiled, "From which Jeweler did you liberate these trinkets? If I am permitted to join, then I might pay a visit to the one who crafted these."

A few feet away from Neven, one of the regulars who frequented the pub growled suddenly aloud, "What?!? Gods, I swear this district is cursed! Is nothing sacred here? That's it! I'm done doing business here!" And he stammered out of the Gallows Pub angrily.

Neven's eyes cut toward the man though he did not turn his head to look at him, "What's his problem?"

"The one who just got up and left." Seri leaned back once more placing the small portion of gems on the table in full view of the gang.

Gabe took his cut of gems after studying how Neven worked his own talent. "We can take you to see the guild master and one other. The militia is NOT one of the them. You said information right. The Guild Master is the best person for that sort of thing but first you're gonna have to prove it. A small job. A heist worth about fifty gold no more no less from the merchant district. There's a fence named Calish that has a shop there. He's also the eyes and ears for the guild. Can't miss him he's a Vixen, a fox man. Do the job and oh by the way, you have twelve hours in which do this. Take it or leave. That's what information is gonna cost you and your friends."

"That's reasonable," Neven agreed, "If I have only twelve hours to pull a heist, then I better get cracking!"

The Thief turned towards Seri and planted a long kiss on her lips, "Something to think about until we meet again."

Neven promptly got up and walked away from the group and back towards his friends.

*******

"What is Neven doing?" Serna asked Seargent Talos, "Is he trying to make friends or trying to make out?"

Sergeant Talos kept his eye on Neven and the others not saying a word. He simply observed the whole scene as it happened. Without missing a beat, "He's working. Maybe if you got out more and viewed how people less fortunate than you worked and lived, you might understand better."

"I travel The Realm, fight monsters, free people and save lives," Serna retorted sharply, "I have lived and worked among the less fortunate. How much more getting out do I really need to do?"

Now slightly curious about Serna's response Talos asked, "Is that so? And what pray tell have you and your friends fought of late? Monsters? Villains? Terrible foes?"

"All of the above," Serna boasted, "From ancient black dragons to evil black witches to the Dark Lord of the Realm himself. You name it, we've encountered it, fought it and vanquished it in that order."

Sergeant Talos kept one hand on his weapon and the other on his belt. Thieves weren't the only rabble rousers in this place. Plenty of drunks looking to throw a punch at the slightest insult. "I see."

"I have to admit, Willow, the lad's got skills," Irzen took note of Neven's interaction with his fellow thieves, "He's got the red-head all but eating out of his hand."

"It's not the girl that concerns me but the company she keeps," Willow walked over to the bar and raised his hand to order a drink, "They keep watchful eyes upon him and us."

"Some call them, 'Little Birds.' Most of them are normal kids but there's a few with unique talents like the girl who used a telekinetic version of Slight of Hand. One of the boys is one of those who can use telepathy and read surface thoughts. I've watched this group for the last few years. Trustworthy not really but they are good at what they do with the right kind of motivation." The sergeant said quietly.

"That's good to know," Irzen replied, "It's always good to know what we are going up against."

When the Human bartender strode up, Willow ordered two ales before he turned to The Sergeant, "What will you have, Talos, or does your being on duty prevent you from imbibing alcohol?"