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?"


"Ale," Talos said flatly. "Those who are on duty are allowed to have one hearty beverage to help ease with stress."

The bartender deposited three ales while Willow paid him in kind.

The Sergeant waited for Neven to rejoin the party, "Well, what sort of 'Up-to-no-good-job,' are you required to do in exchange for information, kid?"

"Not much," Neven quipped, "The good news is that I can have an audience with The Guild Master and all I have to do is pull off a heist. The bad news is that my heist has to be a small job worth about fifty gold no more no less from the merchant district. If I am successful, then I will turn my ill-gotten gains over to a fence named Calish who has a shop there. Another bit of bad news is that I only have twelve hours to do the job. Nothing I can't handle, with a little help from my friends."

Sergeant Talos rubbed his chin, "Well, there's a few places in the Merchant District that would be ideal places to scope out, lay low, and--," he coughed under his breath, "burgle what you need."

Willow and Irzen both raised their tankards to Neven while Serna just smiles at him.

Talos took his stein of ale and drank half of it. This was one of those assignments where he might need more than just one. He had a feeling there was more to the relic than the Bronze Man let on but the less knew about the details of such holy items, the easier his job was.